Is the SF Bay Area overrated? (Los Angeles, San Diego: houses, gated community, subsidized)

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

You honestly don't think you're an anomaly? I work at a technology company and what Dodge is telling you is the norm (whether you want to accept it or not). My wife is in corporate retail...same deal there (not to mention that most of them are continuing work after they get home into the late hours and often weekends). Why you would think this is hyperbole is beyond me. It takes a very high income to survive in the SF Bay Area. You don't get to that level by working a basic 9-5 type job. And working the type of hours that it requires doesn't leave a lot of time to experience much of what the Bay Area has to offer. I'm sorry that's hard for you to accept.

Exactly. With so many Bay Area techies with workweeks resembling those of a Hong Kong investment bank, enduring horrible traffic, and paying through the roof for a tiny apartment, why on earth do people think the Bay Area is "laid back?"

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by candalf

If you value what I do: easily accessible outdoors, diversity and richness of culture, freedom to think and to feel as I please as well as tech job market, the Bay Area is not overrated. At least not if you only consider the US.

I definitely don't agree with the highlighted. Maybe because you are Liberal you feel that way. It'd be like a Conservative in a rural town in Texas saying the same exact thing. If you are a Republican in SF, you have to bite your tongue pretty much on a daily basis.


I'd be willing to bet you if you walked from Westfield to the Ferry Building carrying a sign that says "I support Trump and Republicans" you will get harassed and verbally assaulted. If you switched it to "I support XYZ and Democrats" you will probably get high fives only.


I agree with you on accessibility to outdoors, diversity, culture, tech job market though.

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I definitely don't agree with the highlighted. Maybe because you are Liberal you feel that way. It'd be like a Conservative in a rural town in Texas saying the same exact thing. If you are a Republican in SF, you have to bite your tongue pretty much on a daily basis.


I'd be willing to bet you if you walked from Westfield to the Ferry Building carrying a sign that says "I support Trump and Republicans" you will get harassed and verbally assaulted. If you switched it to "I support XYZ and Democrats" you will probably get high fives only.


I agree with you on accessibility to outdoors, diversity, culture, tech job market though.

I won't disagree with his original statement in that you are free to think and feel anyway you want. However, as you stated, sharing that information in a place like San Francisco will be socially expensive for you. But being a hermit isn't all that bad

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

I won't disagree with his original statement in that you are free to think and feel anyway you want. However, as you stated, sharing that information in a place like San Francisco will be socially expensive for you. But being a hermit isn't all that bad

Yeah, you can think any way you like, But then again you can think anyway you like anywhere in this country.
The difference is taking action and expressing it in a public manner. Walking around with a Trump shirt will probably get you not only verbally accosted, but maybe physically injured too. Now I won't say doing an action such as this anywhere else you will not have issues. It's just that California has long prided itself as progressive, liberal, and freedom to express yourself, yet is every bit as repressive as many other places.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

You honestly don't think you're an anomaly? I work at a technology company and what Dodge is telling you is the norm (whether you want to accept it or not). My wife is in corporate retail...same deal there (not to mention that most of them are continuing work after they get home into the late hours and often weekends). Why you would think this is hyperbole is beyond me. It takes a very high income to survive in the SF Bay Area. You don't get to that level by working a basic 9-5 type job. And working the type of hours that it requires doesn't leave a lot of time to experience much of what the Bay Area has to offer. I'm sorry that's hard for you to accept.

I only worked from 9-9 when I was working at a start up. Otherwise it’s mostly 9-6. Best yet, my company let me work from home. I went home at 3pm to pick up my kid and worked at home afterwards. My husband was the 9-6 guy. We did own home when we were in the Bay area. I didn’t live in SF but I went there every single weekend in my first two years there with my family. So yeah, it’s hyperbole. We had plenty of time. Or only that my husband and I did our whole yard, landscaping and all. That means we had lots of time, not just time to enjoy the outdoor. Went skiing every 3-day weekend.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

So just because you don't you're saying what I am saying is hyperbole and nonsense? Yet I know people who work a lot of hours and have little spare time to enjoy the benefits of living in the bay area. Now if both people are working it can be different as they may not need to work long hours as they have a dual income as you said you and your husband didn't. That's past tense as in you no longer work?

It's one thing to have bought many years ago and thus a lower cost of living and had a double income versus someone now in their late 20's to late 30's with one income struggling to cover the high cost of housing. House price was commiserate with our salary. We bought from one salary because I had plan to get pregnant. House prices are high now, but salaries are too.

My sister's best friend lives in Moraga and until recently worked in retail as a manager and often left work between 8 to 10 pm. I have friends in real estate that work the weekends as well as evenings and hold a regular job too.

You sound very reliable in your statement. You have no idea what time your kid leaves work, but you are certain it's not 8 pm. How do you know if you just said you had no idea?

We’re retired now, but we were working up in the Bay Area in the early 90s to early 2000. We were both in high tech but didn’t have super high position, just ordinary engineers.

I know my kid doesn’t work past 8, she often went to concert on midweek in SF and I saw it on Instagram. She never complained about working late. But I don’t keep a watch on her to know for sure.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Exactly. With so many Bay Area techies with workweeks resembling those of a Hong Kong investment bank, enduring horrible traffic, and paying through the roof for a tiny apartment, why on earth do people think the Bay Area is "laid back?"

No, my kid just moved to a bigger apartment. What tiny apartment are you talking about. 5 minutes commute too. What horrible commute?

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I definitely don't agree with the highlighted. Maybe because you are Liberal you feel that way. It'd be like a Conservative in a rural town in Texas saying the same exact thing. If you are a Republican in SF, you have to bite your tongue pretty much on a daily basis.


I'd be willing to bet you if you walked from Westfield to the Ferry Building carrying a sign that says "I support Trump and Republicans" you will get harassed and verbally assaulted. If you switched it to "I support XYZ and Democrats" you will probably get high fives only.


I agree with you on accessibility to outdoors, diversity, culture, tech job market though.

I know a few Republicans up there. But actually we don’t talk politics at work. If that’s biting your tongue then it fits your assumptions.

[likealady]

Originally Posted by NewbieHere

It’s a lot of nonsense about working too much and not getting out. Where do people come up with this nonsense? Hyperbole I call it.

The last job I often worked 8:30 am - 6 pm. Then I would often go home and finish projects that were thrown on me last minute or try to get ahead after eating dinner. Many weekends I had to work because of last minute changes. I ended up switching to a more corporate job. While the workload is at times just as crazy, most of my coworkers are no longer millennials with no outside life, thus giving me a better work-life balance. I don't make those crazy $150k+ tech job salaries that people here love to talk about, but it's good enough and I can actually have a life now.

My current job is not the norm that's for sure.

I also agree with others on shutting your mouth if you're not a liberal.

[NewbieHere]

Originally Posted by likealady

The last job I often worked 8:30 am - 6 pm. Then I would often go home and finish projects that were thrown on me last minute or try to get ahead after eating dinner. Many weekends I had to work because of last minute changes. I ended up switching to a more corporate job. While the workload is at times just as crazy, most of my coworkers are no longer millennials with no outside life, thus giving me a better work-life balance. I don't make those crazy $150k+ tech job salaries that people here love to talk about, but it's good enough and I can actually have a life now.

My current job is not the norm that's for sure.

I also agree with others on shutting your mouth if you're not a liberal.

I was actually underpaid when I was up there, but my boss worried that I might quit and gave me tons of stock options. It ended up worked out in my favor. This happened more than once, I never got stressed at work. My husband is European, they don’t work pass 35 hours a week. He turned down work on the weekend. He set his priority, still got the biggest bonuses at one of his companies.